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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Football Fundamentals: Cover 1 Defense Adjustments

Like all coverages, coaches have developed adjustments and
checks to mitigate some of the weaknesses of a coverage, or to hinder some of
the methods offenses use to attack the defense without switching up the
coverage entirely. This is done for teams with certain strengths, against
certain formations that look to exploit some aspect of coverage, or to take advantage
of offensive tendencies in certain situations. These adjustments can be called
in the huddle based or they can be checked based on the offensive look or
motion pre-snap. In this piece, we’ll go over some of the things Cover 1
defenses do to adjust to offenses.

Teams that stack two receivers or bunch them tight (usually
close to the line) will often see an In/Out called against them. The In/Out
call prevents man defenders from chasing the receiver through potential picks
and rubs, and works as a quasi-match-up zone. First man out is taken by the “out”
defender, then anything vertical or in is taken by the other defender. Same can
be said in the scenario that the first receiver goes inside and the second goes
vertical, with the In defender taking the first receiver. These sorts of calls
can make the defense look a bit like a zone, and can put the coverage in a
position to jump routes that the QB thinks will be breaking open. To take
advantage of this sort of adjustment, offenses can run option routes or double
moves that appear to first step in or out before breaking back to the void left
behind the first receiver through the “zone”.

Bunch In/Out

A trips or trey call can make a simple In/Out call more
complex, and can add a lot more wash for defenders to fight through. From a
bunch or stack set, it can become difficult to stay with a man. To simplify
things, a Bunch In/Out call can be made, where the defender responsible for the
receiver on the LOS will press, while the other two play off and play the
remaining two receivers in an In/Out check similar to what they’d do against
two receivers. The up receiver (on the LOS) is typically used to make the first
rub and seal defenders away from their man, so pressing him can disrupt the
timing of the play and make it difficult for the other receiver to get into
their routes. However, if the receiver can get a clean release, this may be an
opportunity to pick off multiple defenders and attack with things such as
double slants before the In/Out behind it can pick up their coverage
assignments.

Lock Bunch

This will be called if the coverage isn’t worried about
being picked off from the receiver’s routes. This can be done by pressing tight
to the receivers, or playing the receivers at different depths from your DB compatriots.
Obviously, this requires picking through the wash, but if done correctly
maintains tight coverage throughout. Will often be called in a “bunch” set that
isn’t as tight, ensuring there is no miscommunication between the defenders.

“Match-Up”

There are several means of running a match up man-to-man
coverage against a trips coverage. You can run a triangle, for example. Below,
you’ll see a version where the inside defender takes the first receiver that
breaks outside, the next defender takes the next outside (or vertical route if
the third receiver goes inside), and the third defender takes the third outside
or first inside. It’s a fairly simple match up that keeps a defender as deep as
the deepest while allowing the defense to jump routes and maintain leverage
throughout the bunch. False stems (outside release only to run a slant back
inside) can cause communication problems and must be addressed however.

High/Low

Typically only a call made near the endzone, and typically
between LB and SS. In the case below, you’ll see a TE and a Wing. In this case,
the SS will take the receiver that goes vertical while the OLB remains shallow.
If both go vertical, typically the SS will stay inside while the OLB takes the
outside releasing receiver.

3x2

3x2 is the same thing that was discussed previously in the
Underneath coverage portion of Cover 1 fundamentals. In this case, a call may
be made if a second offensive player motions into the backfield. The OLB to the
RB’s route will take the first man back that goes outside in his direction. The
MIKE will take the 2nd man to that releases in that direction. The
third LB will become the Rat defender. This is a fairly simple check that does
well to match up in play action as well as take care of the boot.

Funnel

Also known as Read/Rat, this can be a check for a single
back look if a 2nd back motions out of the backfield. In this case,
the LB toward the RB’s release will pick him up in coverage while the other
defends the Hole.

“Omaha”

“Omaha” as I’ve called it is a 6-man pressure check. Only
run against single back formations, a LB will cover the most inside TE while
the SS picks up the 2nd TE, H-back, or slot receiver. An OLB and the
opposite DE will blitz off the edge and peal if the RB attempts to release
their direction. If the RB stays into block, both will attack the QB. This puts
a defender in every gap at the LOS and puts pressure on the QB quickly, while
still picking up every receiver in coverage. The weakness is that any gap
unsound play has no 2nd level defender to cover up mistakes, a wheel
route could put a RB on a DE or LB in space, a traditional screen could see a
RB leak through not picked up, and any quick inward breaking route doesn’t have
to be concerned with underneath wash. This is a high risk/reward play.

Switch

Switches the DE and OLB responsibility, with the OLB
pressuring and the DE dropping in coverage. A switch call can mess with a QB’s
hot read and quickly changes the leverage that the TE sees, while also being
difficult for offensive lines to pick up in pass protection. It’s a sort of
cheap way of getting pressure on the QB, messing with the QB reads in the run
game, or defending the edge against teams that like to run off the TE. The obvious
weakness is any time the DE has to carry the TE downfield. Any sort of speed
option play that isolates the OLB coming off the edge has little help behind
him, making it difficult to defend.

Cross

Cross is help of bracket coverage that is going to go to
help any LB that’s forced to defend a receiver in space. Often seen in a nickel
situation against 4 WRs, or against a trips set where a LB has to split out.
The safety toward the LB will play the
center field, cheating over top of the LB to help over top if the receiver
tries to streak past the LB. The “Cross” call comes from the far safety, who
will take his eyes to the receiver covered by the LB and pick him up at any
time when the receiver tries to cross the field. This allows the LB to leverage
the receiver inside, knowing he has help over the top and inside of him. Offenses
trying to get a receiver in space against a LB will find it more difficult, as
the LB will be shaded toward any bubble screen or outward run route, and
safeties will help out over the top and inside. Effectively, it takes a player
playing in space and limits his space. The downside is any quick pass to the
receiver breaking inside, and also the fact that it takes three sets of eyes to
a single player on offense.

Invert

Invert is simply inverting the safety, and having the SS
play deep center while the FS comes down. This can be done if the FS is a bit
better in man coverage and the defense wants to say, cover a slot with the FS.
It can also be done to put the 8th man in the box (the safety) away
from strength, especially against teams that like to run to strength (it puts
more muscle to the strong side of the formation) or teams that like to run to
the outside to the weakside of the formation (the safety is coming down and is
difficult to block on the weakside of the formation). The downside is that the
LB covering the TE no longer has direct help from the SS, and teams with good
TEs can take advantage of the inverted coverage.

Jump

Jump is a bit like invert, but it sees the center field
safety come down in man coverage and be replaced by either a CB or a SS
covering a slot. This is an adjustment to teams that like to run jet sweeps,
like to motion their slot, or like to run a lot of shallow crossing routes. In
this way, the FS can come down and cut off the crossing route or set the edge
against the jet sweep, while the CB or SS rotates back to the center field.
Where the offense has an advantage here is in the case where a receiver starts
off crossing the field, only to snag back toward the original side (where the
CB rotating to center field has already vacated) and that it puts players in
positions they are less accustomed to playing.

Auto

Auto is an adjustment that puts the LB locked onto the TE,
and then runs a 3x2 with the SS and the remaining two LBs. In this case, you
can align it (bring the safety down) based on TE alignment (over the TE) or
based on the backfield alignment (bring the SS over the fastest backfield
threat, for instance, or put the SS in the position he’s most likely to be the
RAT). Obviously, this puts a LB on a TE, but if the TE isn’t a big pass threat,
this also gets more speed taking care of the players in the backfield and
allows you to leverage the TE different based on front.

12 Adjustment

This is a simple adjustment to 12 personnel, specifically,
when the two TEs are lined up opposite of each other. The SAM, who is most likely
your best coverage LB, will align over the nominal TE, or to strength. The SS
will then follow wherever the other TE goes. This gives the defense the ability
to have their better coverage defenders on the TEs and maintaining the outside
leverage (where they’re less likely to have to take on blocks).

Nickel Adjustment

Cover 1 can be run against 3 WRs either from base personnel or nickel personnel. In nickel personnel, typically the NB will cover the slot and the SS the TE (or however you want to run the SS/LB coverage). Against four wide, the SS will often split out against one of the WRs, though vs trips, defenses may split out a LB, run a "Cross" check to the far side safety, and cover the TE with the CB and some safety help.

Tight Adjustment

Against a tight formation, the CB will tend to cover the TE with no WR to that side (away from strength). The SS will come down over top of the other TE. Vs 12 personnel and a twins look, the defense can rotate the CB to the twins set and cover the two TEs with the SS and SAM, or they put a safety over top of the slot and cover the wing and TE with the CB and SAM.

These decisions on how to defend these formations will depend on the skill set of the defensive personnel, the skill set of the offensive personnel, the offensive tendencies, and how it fits within the rest of the defensive playbook (you won't ask your defense to make an adjustment that's completely different than anything else and is difficult to get into if not immediately recognized).

Conclusions

There are obviously more things that can be done that are
different checks or adjustments to mess with offensive keys, particularly in
the blitz package portion of the playbook. Based on down and distance,
offensive alignment, and tendencies in both cases, defenses will check into
certain adjustments while maintaining the core element of being a Cover 1
defense. This is one way you can become really good at doing one high level
thing (Cover 1) in terms of technique and understanding assignments while
mixing it up at a more detail oriented level enough to not completely tip your hand.

And again, if you want to understand the basics of Cover 1, here's a link.